War crimes, and the liberation of Aleppo
It continues to amaze me - although I know it shouldn't because of its repetitious nature - but the mainstream media (MSM) content of Canada's CBC as represented by Rosemary Barton on Power and Politics is a combination of double standards, misinformation, and innuendo through choice of language.
Barton's main talking points today (Wednesday, December 14, 2016) came under the title "Fall of Aleppo", with her main theme being war crimes. The implications made for the latter put full blame for the declared crimes on the Assad/Russia combination. Her three guests today were: Louise Arbour, former Canadian Supreme Court Justice; Stephane Dion, current Liberal foreign affairs minister; and Stephen O'Brien, UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs. All three avidly reflected and supported the "war crimes" thesis of Ms. Barton.
First, the "Fall of Aleppo"
From the many sources I have read, from the many history books and contemporary events books I have read, the very title "Fall of Aleppo" is a lie. Aleppo - at least a good part of it, "fell" to the al-Qaeda/al-Nusra related so called rebels about four years ago. These 'rebels' were aided and abetted by the U.S. CIA, indirectly through our great democratic allies in Saudi Arabia, and more discreetly, at first at least, by our Turkish NATO ally. Yes there were protests, but the violence came from outside (hmmm, perhaps the call for war crimes investigations should extend back in time...more later).
What is actually happening in Aleppo is a victory of government forces, aided by its allies, in retaking the part of Aleppo that was held under the severe hand of the Islamic fundamentalist groups. The way the CBC and other western MSM present the story is as if the "moderate" terrorists - which the U.S. failed to identify - were the ones besieged in Aleppo. Certainly the civilians trapped in this "cauldron" (the non-western term used for the surrounding and defeat of the rebel/terrorist groups) have suffered, as they do in all wars. They will continue to suffer until the Assad government - okay call it a regime, which it is just as much as Trudeau's government is a regime considering it governs with only 40 per cent of the populations approval (at last count) - until the government can restore some semblance of security to the city as a whole. The civilians were essentially hostages to the rebel/terrorist forces, not allowed to leave the area, killed if they tried, subject to enforced fundamentalist rules.
In short, Aleppo has not fallen, Aleppo has recovered from its hostage taking by the terrorists. Aleppo has been liberated.
- For sure, all wars are crimes, but how far back do you want to go?
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